Kia Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, said Friday its second-quarter net profit rose 5 percent from a year ago, helped by the company's sales focus on pricier models and a weak won.Net profit for the April-June period came to 2.95 trillion won (US$2.1 billion) on a consolidated basis, compared with a profit of 2.81 trillion won a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing.Operating profit reached 3.64 trillion won, up 7.1 percent from a year ago. Sales jumped 5 percent to 26.56 trillion won.The earnings failed to meet market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 2.99 trillion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.Kia said it sold 795,183 vehicle units during the three-month period, down 1.6 percent from last year, due to production gaps from the electrification conversion of domestic and overseas factories, insufficient inventory and the discontinuation of some small car models.The company, how ever, enjoyed improved profitability thanks to an improved product mix focusing on high-profit vehicles and improved sales in advanced markets, such as the United States.The company also cited reduced raw material costs and favorable exchange rates of the Korean won for the overall improved profitability, the company said.Source: Yonhap News Agency